[GreenKeys] Newbie seeking help please

[Steve Garrison]

Chris,

 

Welcome to the group!

 

I used to have a machine just like that the one you now have, even with the same AP placard.  My machine was taken out of service in 1984 at a radio station in SC and was saved from the dumpster by a teenager working as a copy boy at the station.  I got the machine from him in about 2010 and he had never once powered it up since the day he got it.  I no longer have that machine, as it moved on to a new loving home.  It was relative easy to get running like a top, and many on this list have way more experience with this model than I do and can offer plenty of assistance.  I trained on this generation of equipment in the USAF during the mid-60s but only had to work on one but one time after tech school.

 

To my knowledge this model came into wide use in the 30s and like almost all models of TTY gear they were completely phased out in the mid-80s,

 

Is that the platen crank is see sticking out of a hole on the left side of the frame?  If it is, keep track of that, it’s worth its weight in gold as it is the most misplaced item with all these machines.

 

Steve G./N4TTY

 

P.S. There is plenty of documentation available for this piece of equipment.

 

From: greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net <greenkeys-bounces at mailman.qth.net> On Behalf Of Chris Mele
Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2020 12:36 PM
To: greenkeys at mailman.qth.net
Subject: [GreenKeys] Newbie seeking help please

 

Hello and thanks for adding me to this list!

 

I am a 34-year-newsman and I recently came into possession of an Associated Press teletype/wire machine with a keyboard. I am very excited to have it for my office.

 

I can recall one of these machines in the journalism department at my college and remember the more modern versions of the machines that were printers -- all of course before the wires converted to electronically delivering feeds directly to newsroom computers.

 

I have been diving into the impressive, deep archives here and been searching online for a better understanding of how the machine worked or even a simple diagram of the names of its parts. Was the keyboard a way for reporters to transmit from the field? I am also trying to get an approximate date for this model.

 

I've been hunting for a book or instruction manual that might shed light on the history of these news wire machines. If anyone has any recommendations or knows of a particular thread that might address my questions, I'd be most grateful. I'm not at all tech savvy so I'm looking for something that might be a bit more with the layman in mind but certainly welcome any technical insights. 

 

I very much admire the sense of community in these threads and I'll continue to methodically work my way through them in the meantime.

 

Thanks very much. 

 

Best,

Christopher Mele

 

PS -- I have been repeatedly asked whether this machine works or could be made to work again, and I have no idea.

 

 

 

 

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